Back on July 7, 2007, Nonito Donaire was vying for his first world title belt.

His opponent was Vic Darchinyan, who many boxing insiders felt was going to be too much for Donaire and who would successfully defend his world title.

From the opening bell that night, Donaire hung in there with the cagey southpaw. The same boxing insiders felt it was only a matter of time before Darchinyan would unload his arsenal of power and experience on the young Filipino-American.

However, it was Donaire who exhibited the power in the fifth round. A left hook to the head knocked Darchinyan down and out, bringing Donaire that world title and stardom.

More than six years later, Darchinyan is aiming for redemption, while Donaire is hoping to pick himself up from a recent devastating loss.

Donaire and Darchinyan will square off Nov. 9 in a scheduled 12-round bout, mostly likely in Dallas.

The bout will headline a Top Rank Promotions card and will be televised on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing.”

Since the victory over Darchinyan, with Donaire earning the IBF flyweight title, Donaire has won world titles in three different weight classes. Along the way, Donaire enlisted the services of Oxnard trainer Robert Garcia, eventually becoming one of boxing’s top fighters.

However, Donaire ran into former amateur star and Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 8, losing a 12-round unanimous decision.

While Donaire (31-2, 20 knockouts) had Garcia in his corner, the media criticized Donaire for not spending his entire camp with Garcia. Donaire split his time in his hometown of San Leandro and Las Vegas, away from Garcia’s Oxnard gym.

That could all change.

“Last time we talked, we agreed he was going to be here (in Oxnard) four weeks before the fight,” said Garcia, who also trains Brandon Rios, his brother Miguel Angel Garcia and Evgeny Gradovich, among others.

The Armenian-born Darchinyan (39-5-1, 28 KOs) moved up in weight and won the IBF super flyweight title. However, Darchinyan has suffered losses at the bantamweight limit to Joseph Agbeko, Abner Mares, Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka. He has won his last two bouts and may be all in against Donaire, considering he will turn 38 in January.

“Vic has wanted this fight for the last five years and this is redemption for him,” said Frank Espinoza, who manages Darchinyan. “The fight was made and now it is all up to Vic to win this fight.”

Garcia training

Looks like unbeaten Miguel Angel Garcia will also be on the Nov. 9 Top Rank card. Garcia is likely to fight WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez of Puerto Rico.

Although the fight has been reportedly verbally agreed upon, there are a few sticking points that have prevented the fight from be formally signed. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is confident the fight will happen.

Garcia has been training full time in Oxnard, under his brother Robert and father Eduardo.

In his last fight on June 15, Garcia stopped former world champion Juan Manuel Lopez in the fourth round in Dallas. The 2006 Pacifica High graduate lost his featherweight world title the day before because he weighed above the 126-pound limit and was not able to lose weight in time.

Cuellar wins title

Chalk up another world title for a fighter trained by Robert Garcia. Jesus Cuellar of Argentina won the interim WBA featherweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Claudio Marrero at Verona, N.Y.

The bout took place on a card promoted by former undisputed world champion Mike Tyson.

Not only did Cuellar win a world title, but he joined Miguel Angel Garcia and Gradovich as world champions who train at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy. All three campaign in the featherweight division.

Cuellar improved to 23-1, with 18 KOs, while the Dominican-born Marrero fell to 14-1, with 11 KOs.

Lopez fight

Super featherweight Ricky Lopez will fight Pablo Batres in a scheduled six-round bout at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio.

Lopez (9-2, 4 KOs) lives and trains in Oxnard and is coming off an eighth-round technical knockout loss to Manuel Avila on Dec. 1.

Batres (4-6, KO) of Nogales, Mexico, has lost five out of his last six bouts. In the main event, heavyweight contenders Chris Arreola and Seth Mitchell square off in a scheduled 12-round bout. The bout will be televised on Showtime starting at 7:30 p.m.